Journal lubricator



Aug. 20, 1963 c. ROBINSON JOURNAL LUBRICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov.14, 1961 INVENTOR LAMSON 0412,1452 ROBINSON ATTORNEYS Aug. 20, 1963. vcQRQBINSON 3, ,2

JOURNAL LUBRICATOR Y Filed Nov. 14,, 1961 Y 2 sheets sneet 2 W w/f i aINVENTOR LAMSOIN CARMER ROBINSON BYBM,EM,MM)M

ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,101,223 JOURNAL LUBRICATGR LamsonCarmer Robinson, Manchester, Ga, assignor to Callaway Mills Company, LaGrange, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Filed Nov-.14, 1961, Ser. No.152,313 4 Claims.v (Cl. 308-87) This invention relates to lubricatorsparticularly adapted for use in the journal boxes of railway cars.

In recent years a great deal of progress has been made in thelubrication of railway journal bearings. Much of this progress isattributable to the use of preformed lubricator pads that may beinserted into the journal boxes and which serve to apply lubricating oilto the surfaces of the rotating journals. As ordinarily constructed andinstalled, such a pad is a resilient, oil-absorbing article that restsupon the lower walls of the journal box and bears resiliently againstthe journal. Lubricating oilinserted into the journal box is absorbed bythe pad and transmitted by wicking action to the journal.

To be completely acceptable, a lubricator pad must be inexpensive; itmust be easy to install; it must have high lubricating efiiciency; andit must be sufficiently durable to give satisfactory service over a longperiod of time. The pads known prior to this invention have notsatisfied all of these requirements as. fully as might be desired. It isdifficult to achieve good lubricating and durability characteristics ina low costpad that is easy to handle during installation and inspection.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved journallubricator that will overcome many of the problems encounteredheretofore.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a lubricator padhaving a base so constructed that it may serve as a lubricant reservoirfor holding a substantial amount of oil in a position from which the oilmay be transferred readily to the journal.

Another object of the invention is to provide a more durable lubricatorby incorporating in a pad a base unit that will be resistant to abrasionfrom the rough walls of a journal box and that will give the padimproved positional stability.

-A preferred form of journal lubricator pad embodying the principles ofthis invention includes a relatively thin,

rectangular base platform adapted to conform generally to the curvedlower walls of a. journal box and resilient, oil-absorbing meansextending upwardly from the base for applying oil to the journal. Thebase platform is made up of an oil-absorbing lower fabric layer, anoilabsorbing upper fabric layer and an intermediate layer of cellularmaterial. The journal-contacting means preferably is formed by anoil-absorbing and wicking fabric jacket attached to the base and. havingone or more pockets receiving cores of resilient material.

IMNWR, The construction of the base unit of the pad is such that asubstantial quantity of lubricating oil may be retained therein. Thecellular material preferably is a plastic foam which will hold the upperand lower fabric layers in spaced apart relation and which will hold oilin its cells. The presence of this oil reservoir right in the baseof thelubrioator pad makes it possible to reduce the amount of free oil in thebottom of the journal box, so that oil losses due to pumping action andsplashing are minimized. Moreover, even when the bottom of the journalbox is dry, the base platform of the pad holds enough oil to. provideproper lubrication of the journal bearing for many additional miles ofrailway car operation.

Different fabric constructions preferably are employed for the upper andlower layers of the base unit of the lice pad. The lower fabric layernecessarily must contact the rough surfaces of the journal box, and inorder to minimize wear, it is desirable that this fabric have highabrasion resistance. The upper fabric layer is not sub ject to abrasion,and it need not have particularly high abrasion resistance qualities.However, it must be able to wick oil rapidly, and for this purpose anopen mesh construction has been found to be desirable.

Although the :lubricator pad is not fixed to the journal box duringinstallation, its base unit does contact the curved lower walls of thejournal box over a large area. The frictional forces developed betweenthe pad and the journal box walls have been found to be sufiicient toprevent displacements of the pad during operation of the railway car. Inthis connection, it is pointed out that undesired displacement of alubricator pad during operation would be likely to expose some portionof the pad to the danger of being torn or distorted severely by contactwith the rotating collar and fillet portions of the journal. Hence, theenhanced positional stability of the lubricator pad of this invention isa significant factor as far as. the durability of the pad is concerned.

A more complete understanding of the invention, and a betterappreciation of its many advantages, will be gained from a considerationof the following detailed description of an embodiment illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a lubricator pad constructed inaccordance with this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a rear elevational view, partly broken away, of the padshown in FIGURE '1;

.PIGURE 3 is an enlarged, broken away, perspective view of a cornerportion of the base of the lubricator pad of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a conventionaljournalbox having the lubricator pad of FIGURE 1 installed therein.

The lubrioator pad illustrated in the drawings includes a base unitdesignated generally by the numeral 2 and lubricant applying meansdesignated generally by the numeral 4. A strong nylon pull strap 6 alsois provided at a central portion of the pad, as indicated in FIGURE 1,to facilitate handling of the pad, particularly during removal thereoffrom a journal box for inspection or replacement.

The base unit 2 of the pad serves. both as a stabilizing platform forthe lubricant applying means 4 and as a lubricant. reservoir. Itincludes a lower layer 8 of oil-absorbent, abrasion-resistant cottonduck fabric, an upper layer 10 of cotton duck fabric, and a body ofpolyurethane foam 12 between the layers. 8. and 10. The fabric layers 8and It are secured directly together along the. perimeter of the baseunit by overedge stitching 14 which prevents raveling of the cottonfabrics and also gives. the edge portions of the base unit 2 improvedabrasion resistance characteristics. Additional stitching 20 is locatedinwardly of the edges of the base unit 2 to secure the sheet. of foammaterial 12 in place between the upper and lower fabric layers 8 and 10.

In order that the. lower layer 8 of fabric may be capableof absorbingand retaining large quantities of lubrieating oil and may also be highlyresistant to abrasion, careful consideration should be given to thefabric construction. By way of example, it may be mentioned that atightly woven, warp-faced, cotton fabric having a weight of. 30.36ounces per square yard has been found to. be. suitable. This fabric hastwenty-nine warp yarns per inch and seventeen filling yarns per inch.The. warp Y ms. are 7-ply yarns of 8.26s (cotton count) size, andthefilling yarns are 5-ply yarns of 6.28s (cotton. count) size. The. fabricfor the upper layer 10 of thebase 2 must also be selected with care.This fabric must be capable cotton duck fabric weighing 11.65 ounces persquare yard.

This fabric includes thirty-three warp yarns per inch and twenty-eightfilling yarns per inch. The warp yarns are single ply yarns of 4.5s(cotton count) size, and the filling yarns are single yarns of 3.5s(cotton count) size.

The lubricant-applying means 4 includes a fabric casing 16 and a pair ofresilient cores 18. The casing 16 is secured at intervals to the baseunit 2 of the pad by rows of stitching 26) so as to provide elongatedpockets for the reception of the cores 1% and so as to provide a centerwick structure 22. After the cores 18 have been inserted into thepockets in the fabric casing, the ends of the pockets are closed bystrips 24 of oil-absorbing cotton duck fabric stitched to the base unit2 and to the tops of the pockets.

The fabric used for the casing 16 may be a woven cotton pile fabrichaving loops 26 projecting from its outer surface. Although this type offabric is preferred, it Will be understood that other fabrics having thedesired oilabsorbing and wick-ing propenties may be used if desired.

The center Wick structure 22 is formed by a double layer of the pilefabric casing material. These layers may be secured together at thebottom of the center wick structure 22 by means of a horizontal row ofstitching 28 and at the ends of the center wick structure 22 by means ofvertical rows of stitching 30.

The resilient cores 18 preferably are of trapezoidal configuration intransverse cross section, as shown in FIG- URE 2, and they must beformed from a high quality elastomer. These cores are relied upon toassure firm contact between the fabric casing 16 of the journal pad andthe journal lubricated thereby. Consequently, the elastomer from whichthese cores 18 are formed must be resilient, durable, and dependablethroughout the life of the lubricator.

In selecting an elastomer for use in forming the cores 18, considerationshould be given to the adverse environmental conditions that may beencountered in connection with railway car journal box service. Thematerial should be able to withstand temperatures varying from minusforty degrees'Fahrenheit all the way up to two hundred fifty degreesFahrenheit, land it must have the desired properties of elasticity andresilience at these extreme temperatures. The material also should becapable of being compressed down to about fifty percent of its freeheight without permanent deformation. Finally, the material must bechemically resistant to degradation in the presence of oil, water,foreign matter, and the acids that tend to build up in the journal boxof a railway car. An example of a material that meets all of theserequirements is acrylonitrile synthetic rubber foam.

These exacting requirements are not applicable to the cellular material12 in the base unit 2 of the pad. Although this material may be anelastomeric foam, it is not relied upon to provide resiliency to thepad. The base unit 2 preferably is of a thickness not greater than aboutone quarter of the total height of the lubricator pad, and the cores 18are quite capable of accommodating all of the pad deflection that may berequired and assuring the desired resilient contact between the pad andthe journal being lubricated. Hence, the layer 12 may be formed fromsome inexpensive material such as polyurethane. This layer 12 servesprimarily as an oil-holding reservoir, and it also adds body, weight andstrength to the base plat form 2.

FIGURE 4 illustrates the lubricator pad as it appears when installed ina conventional journal box 32 of the type used on railway cars. Thebottom portion of this journal box 32 serves as a sump for holdinglubricating oil, and its walls curve upwardly, as indicated at 34,toward inwardly projecting positioning lugs or stops 36. A

ll rotatable journal 38 extends into a central portion of the journalbox 32, and, as is customary, a stationary bearing member (notillustrated) rests upon the top of this journal 38. The lubricator padserves to transfer oil from the bottom of the journal box 32 onto therotating surface of the journal 38.

As will be evident from FIGURE 4, the base unit 2' of the lubricator padis flexible enough to permit it to conform substantially to the lowerwalls of the journal box 3 2. It also is of sufficient size to covernearly all of the wall portions of the journal box 32 below the lugs 36.It was pointed out above that the fabric utilized for the bottom layer 8of the base unit 2 of the journal lubricator pad may be :a warp-facedfabric. It is preferred that the warp yarns or threads of this fabric bearranged so as to extend transversely of the lengths of the pockets ofthe pad and transversely with respect to the axis of the journal 38.

During insertion of the lubricator pad, the resilient cores 18 arecompressed and they are urged toward each trer by the curved walls 34 ofthe journal box. As the cores 1% are urged together, they press theloops 26 on the inner side walls of the pockets into contactingrelationship with respect to the loops on the side walls of the centerwick 22. This results in the disposition of four layers of highly oilconductive cotton loop pile fabric in a zone extending directly from thebottom of the journal box 32 to the surface of the journal 38. Theselayers provide a very 'eflicient flow path for the lubricat ing oil andassure that the rate of transfer of lubricating oil to the journal 38will at all times be high enough to assure proper lubrication of thejournal bearing. Auxiliary oil flow paths are provided by the otherfabric portions of the casing 16 and loops 26.

It should be noted also that all of these oil flow paths lead from thehighly oil conductive upper fabric layer 10 of the base platform 2 ofthe pad. Oil stored within the base unit 2 is always available forimmediate use, and it may be transferred readily to the casing 16 fordelivery to the journal 38 as required. The presence of the oil storagereservoir in the base unit 2 of the pad minimizes the amount of oil thatis free to splash around in the bottom of the journal box 32 duringmovements of the railway car.

Any tendency of the lubricator pad to move under the influence of loadsapplied by the journal 38 is eifectively resisted by the firm engagementof the base unit 2 of the pa d with the lower Wall portions of thejournal box 32. Moreover, the fabric 8 which constitutes the lower layer8 of the base unit 2 is extremely resistant to the abrasive forces whichresult from rough spots on the Walls of the journal box 32. In thisconnection, it will be understood by persons skilled in the art that,even though the interior walls of the journal box are illustrated inFIGURE 4 as being smooth, they are in fact quite rough, since journalboxes ordinarily are castings and their interior surfaces are notpolished.

Although (a single embodiment of the invention has been illustrated anddescribed in detail, it will be apparent that various changes andmodifications can be made without departing from the principles of theinvention. It is intended, therefore, that the foregoing description beconsidered as exemplary only and that the scope of the invention beascertained from the following claims.

I claim:

1. A lubricator adapted to be disposed in a journal box between thejournal and the lower Walls of the box, said lubricator comprising :abase unit of a height not greater than one-fourth of the height of thelubricator and being of a rectangular shape adapted to cover a majorportion of thelower walls of the box, a fabric casing secured to saidbase unit :and providing at least one long pocket above the base unit,and a core of compressible and expandable resilient material in saidpocket for urging said fabric easing into contact with the journal, saidbase unit including a lower layer of abrasion resistant material, anupper layer of lubricant conducting material, and means interposedbetween said layers for holding portions of said layers in spaced apartrelation to provide space for the storage of lubricant within said baseunit.

2. In a lubricated journal box containing a journal and having lowerwall portions curved upwardly on opposite sides of a vertical planecontaining the axis of the journal: the improvement which comprises alubricator having a base platform and lubricant reservoir unit ofgenerally rectangular configuration supported by and extending upwardlysubstantial distances along said wall portions of said box, said unitincluding a lower layer of abrasion resistant, lubricant absorbing densewoven cotton fabric having its lower surface made up predominantly ofwarp threads extending in planes approximately at right angles to theaxis of the journal, an upper layer of open mesh lubricant absorbingcotton fabric secured at its edges to said lower layer by overedgestitching, an intermediate layer of polyurethane foam between said upperand lower layers; a lubricant absorbing fabric. casing secured to andcontacting said upper layer of said base unit, said casing extendingupwardly fromsaid upper layer to define at least one pocket; and acompressible and expandable core of acrylonitrile synthetic rubber insaid pocket for pressing said casing against the journal.

3. In a lubricated journal box containing a journal and having lowerwall portions curved upwardly on opposite sides of a vertical planecontaining the axis of the journal: the improvement which comprises alubricator having a base platform and lubricant reservoir unit ofgenerally rectangular configuration supported by and extending upwardlysubstantial distances along said Wall portions of said box, said unitincluding a lower layer of abrasion resistant material, an upper layerof open mesh lubricant absorbing iatbric secured at its edges to saidlower layer, and an intermediate layer of cellular material between saidupper and lower layers; a lubricant absorrbing fabric casing secured toand contacting said upper layer of said base unit, said casing extendingupwardly from said upper layer to define at least one pocket; and acompressible and expandable core in said pocket for pressing said casingagainst the journal.

4. A lubricator adapted to be disposed a journal box between the journaland the lower walls of the box, said lubricator comprising a baseplatform and lubricant reservoir unit of a height not greater thanone-fourth of the height of the lubricator and being of generallyrectangular shape adapted to cover a major portion of the lower walls ofthe box, a fabric casing secured to said base platform and lubricantreservoir unit and providing at least one long pocket above the unit,and a core of oompressible and expandable resilient material in saidpocket for urging said fabric casing into contact with the journal, saidbase platform and lubricant reservoir unit including a lower layer ofabrasion resistant material, an upper layer of lubricant conductingfabric of approximately the same size as said lower layer, stitchingalong the periphery of said unit securing said upper and said lowerlayers directly together, cellular material substantially filling thespace between said layers, and stitching extending across said unit andpassing through said upper and lower layers and said cellular materialto secure said cellular material in place within said base unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS368,937 Flynt Aug. 30, 1887 2,907,613 Schaefer Oct. 6, 1959 3,020,103Harkenrider Feb. 6, 196 2

2. IN A LUBRICATED JOURNAL BOX CONTAINING A JOURNAL AND HAVING LOWERWALL PORTIONS CURVED UPWARDLY ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF A VERTICAL PLANECONTAINING THE AXIS OF THE JOURNAL: THE IMPROVEMENT WHICH COMPRISES ALUBRICATOR HAVING A BASE PLATFORM AND LUBRICANT RESERVOIR UNIT OFGENERALLY RECTANGULAR CONFIGURATION SUPPORTED BY AND EXTENDING UPWARDLYSUBSTANTIAL DISTANCES ALONG SAID WALL PORTIONS OF SAID BOX, SAID UNITINCLUDING A LOWER LAYER OF ABRASION RESISTANT, LUBRICANT ABSORBING DENSEWOVEN COTTON FABRIC HAVING ITS LOWER SURFACE MADE UP PREDOMINANTLY OFWARP THREADS EXTENDING IN PLANES APPROXIMATELY AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THEAXIS OF THE JOURNAL, AN UPPER LAYER OF OPEN MESH LUBRICANT ABSORBINGCOTTON FABRIC SECURED AT ITS EDGES TO SAID LOWER LAYER BY OVEREDGESTITCHING, AN INTERMEDIATE LAYER OF POLYURETHANE FOAM BETWEEN SAID UPPERAND LOWER LAYERS; A LUBRICANT ABSORBING FABRIC CASING SECURED TO ANDCONTAINING SAID UPPER LAYER OF SAID BASE UNIT, SAID CASING EXTENDINGUPWARDLY FROM SAID UPPER LAYER TO DEFINE AT LEAST ONE POCKET; AND ACOMPRESSIBLE AND EXPANDABLE CORE OF ACRYLONITRILE SYNTHETIC RUBBER INSAID POCKET FOR PRESSING SAID CASING AGAINST THE JOURNAL.